cover image Ladybug, Ldybg, Where Are You?

Ladybug, Ldybg, Where Are You?

Cyndy Szekeres. Golden Books, $2.98 (0pp) ISBN 978-0-307-12340-4

It's summertime in the meadow, and the perfect day for a mouse family picnic. While mama and papa gather seeds and berries, children Sam and Emily find a glass jar and try to capture unsuspecting creatures in it. Accompanied by ``their good friend Ladybug,'' they encounter a host of potential jar-dwellers--spider, bee, butterfly--but these victims are ruled out by Sam and Emily's environmentally correct decisions about preserving the meadow's ecosystem. Monotonous in its repetition, the text is slightly uplifted by the hide-and-seek challenge that Ladybug poses to readers. The basic information about insects and their habitats will be helpful to the very young--spiders spin webs, bees gather nectar for honey--but the presentation falls a bit flat. Szekeres's ( Good Night, Sweet Mouse ) mice are expressive and playful. And although her palette is light--and occasionaly overwhelmed by yellow tones--the appeal of these whimsical characters in their sylvan setting overecomes any shortcomings. Ages 4-7. (July)